Walrus Audio's Mako Series debut made a very strong start in 2020; the D1 Delay pedal was a hugely versatile tool for your pedalboard. And now the R1 is aiming to do the same for reverb pedals.
It's another Walrus effects pedal to use Analog Devices Sharc processor, and Walrus says the R1 is capable of moving from "small intimate room sounds to massive washes of experimental euphoria" thanks to its with six customised, studio-quality programs. These are things we love to hear when attempting to justify another premium reverb pedal purchase to the incredulous people in our households.
Well, we can tell those cynics that this is a six-in-one reverb; Spring, Hall, Plate, BFR (Big F***ing Reverb), RFRCT (Refract), and Air. Hear them in action thanks to the wonderful Yvette Young in the demo above.
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Each of those programs can be edited in detail and then saved to one of nine on-board presets for instant inspiration of song use if we ever play gigs again. And via MIDI this preset total is 128!
There's a volume swell effect via the effect knob that can be applied to any of the programs. If this all sounds a bit too out there for you, check the R1 on some classic Floyd, Radiohead and Fleetwood Mac parts in the demo below. It's versatile alright.
Walrus have also included Sustain, latching momentary features, plus stereo in and out. And that's not all, X really does mark the spot with the R1…
Fans of Walrus Audio's Slö and Fathom reverbs may have spotted the X knob and its potential. Engaging it will add features like grit, diffusion, subtle reverse delays and airy whispers depending on the program you're in. this is exactly the kind of feature that makes us pedal addicts.
The R1 looks as solid as its feature-set with a matte black anodised aluminium enclosure and this premium goodness comes at a price; $349 / £319. But this could well be the only reverb pedal you'll need in 2021, at the very least.
More info at Walrus Audio.
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